Moshood Isamotu
There is hype about the Gen Z kids as if they are a different specie of homo sapiens. We all believe they own the present and the future. They are audaciously hairy, bold, courageous, thirsty for knowledge, and hungry for success. They love freedom and want to live uncaged.
Some of them want to achieve in a day what took their parents years to attain. Very good attributes.
Some of the finest elements among them are indeed source of inspiration. They are doing great things, utilizing the business and knowledge enabler of the generation, technology, to break grounds in diverse fields.
The dark horse among them are those we called awon omo irole aye (the end time children). They are very deficient in morals and very desperate to do anything for anything and shamelessly daring. Both groups are turning the world upside down in different ways.
You find them everywhere and they will ordinarily want to rewrite rules whenever they are.
After all, we are being told that the world is fastly closing up on all of us.
Even the house of God is not spared.
I was sometimes ago at a Church service on a Sunday at Road 23, Festac Road, Lagos.
We were all enjoying the atmosphere and it was time for testimony.
A Gen Z boy, by appearance and conduct, stood to share a testimony. I was hitching to hear how he made a good business deal or made good money though Gen Z means. But none of that. The attention of about 200 audience was on him as he walked leisurely to take the mic on the altar. Anyway, no one should judge as God searches the heart. But his comportment reveals what he was about to share.
He is a known member of the Church.
“Let us have the testimony”, Pastor Sunday told him.
“Praise God, praise master Jesus”.
He started his testimony. “Last week, I was sick and they said na malaria and typhoid. I took drugs, still it did not go. I had to go and get injection. Now I’m ok. In fact, during the sickness, my girlfriend stayed with me for two days and honest I did not get strength to touch her at all. Hallelujah”.
Many people in the audience laughed, I guess the sentence “I didn’t get strength to touch her at all” caused the laughter.
I expected the Pentecostal pastor to say something like “if touching you are refering to was to commit formication, that is a sin”. But our pastor never replied him. I shook my head about what churches have turned to.
In Ikorodu too, a young Gen Z boy was sharing a testimony about his admission to Yabatech. Having lost hope, he was surprised to be offered admission and he had to ask God when his name came out on the list. “When I saw my name on the portal, I told God, if na joke stop am o. God, don’t wain me o. But at last it is true”. Hmmmmm. God now joke and wain people. Ok, welcome to the Gen Z world.
Anyway, we now have Model parish churches where some sort of permissiveness is allowed to accommodate Gen z sentiments.
But are they not crossing the red line. They are taking it too far.
Indeed, the world is closing up.
Let’s beware!